Chinese Zodiac
Chinese Zodiac Compatibility
Chinese zodiac compatibility runs on geometry, not vibes: signs four apart on the wheel are allies, each sign has one secret friend, and the sign directly opposite is the famous clash. No percentages here, because the tradition never had any. Pick two signs and see the actual rule behind the verdict.
Chinese zodiac love compatibility: check two birthdays
Two birthdays in, the tradition's own rule out: the two signs, the bond between them, and the verdict. Chinese New Year cutoff applied.
If the question is when rather than who, when will I get married reads one birthday for the years the chart marks; if it is does he like me, that page takes two birthdays and gives the branch relation in one line. For the warnings alone, red flags by sign lists every clash, harm and punishment the old tables name; the zodiac calculator shows the whole reading for one date.
Best and worst matches by birth year
Chinese astrology reads compatibility from the birth year, and so does every Chinese horoscope compatibility column that borrows from it: find your year, and the row gives the three signs the tradition counts as your best matches and the one it warns about hardest. The years run from Chinese New Year, not January 1, so a January or early-February birthday belongs to the year before; the zodiac calculator settles it from the exact date.
| Sign | Birth years | Best matches | Worst match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rat | 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020 | Dragon, Monkey, Ox | Horse |
| Ox | 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021 | Snake, Rooster, Rat | Goat |
| Tiger | 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022 | Horse, Dog, Pig | Monkey |
| Rabbit | 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023 | Goat, Pig, Dog | Rooster |
| Dragon | 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024 | Rat, Monkey, Rooster | Dog |
| Snake | 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025 | Ox, Rooster, Monkey | Pig |
| Horse | 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026 | Tiger, Dog, Goat | Rat |
| Goat | 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027 | Rabbit, Pig, Horse | Ox |
| Monkey | 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028 | Rat, Dragon, Snake | Tiger |
| Rooster | 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029 | Ox, Snake, Dragon | Rabbit |
| Dog | 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030 | Tiger, Horse, Rabbit | Dragon |
| Pig | 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031 | Rabbit, Goat, Tiger | Snake |
Best = the two trine partners plus the secret friend. Worst = the clash, the sign directly opposite; each sign's quieter harm pairing is listed in its block below.
Chinese zodiac love compatibility chart, all 144 pairings
Your sign down the side, theirs along the top. Every cell is read off the branch wheel by the same engine that grades the 66 pairing pages, and every cell opens its pairing.
| Your sign | RatRat | OxOx | TigerTiger | RabbitRabbit | DragonDragon | SnakeSnake | HorseHorse | GoatGoat | MonkeyMonkey | RoosterRooster | DogDog | PigPig |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RatRat | Two Rats: same sign, no pair line | F | + | ~ | T | ~ | C | H | T | + | ~ | + |
| OxOx | F | Two Oxs: same sign, no pair line | ~ | ~ | + | T | H | C | + | T | ~ | ~ |
| TigerTiger | + | ~ | Two Tigers: same sign, no pair line | + | ~ | H | T | ~ | C | ~ | T | F |
| RabbitRabbit | ~ | ~ | + | Two Rabbits: same sign, no pair line | H | + | + | T | ~ | C | F | T |
| DragonDragon | T | + | ~ | H | Two Dragons: same sign, on the old self-punishment list | + | + | + | T | F | C | ~ |
| SnakeSnake | ~ | T | H | + | + | Two Snakes: same sign, no pair line | + | + | F | T | + | C |
| HorseHorse | C | H | T | + | + | + | Two Horses: same sign, on the old self-punishment list | F | ~ | ~ | T | ~ |
| GoatGoat | H | C | ~ | T | + | + | F | Two Goats: same sign, no pair line | + | + | ~ | T |
| MonkeyMonkey | T | + | C | ~ | T | F | ~ | + | Two Monkeys: same sign, no pair line | + | + | H |
| RoosterRooster | + | T | ~ | C | F | T | ~ | + | + | Two Roosters: same sign, on the old self-punishment list | H | + |
| DogDog | ~ | ~ | T | F | C | + | T | ~ | + | H | Two Dogs: same sign, no pair line | ~ |
| PigPig | + | ~ | F | T | ~ | C | ~ | T | H | + | ~ | Two Pigs: same sign, on the old self-punishment list |
- T Trine, best match
- F Secret friend, best match
- + Elements cooperate, good
- ~ Elements rub, takes work
- H Harm, slow friction
- C Clash, opposite on the wheel
- = Same sign, no pair line
- ! Same sign, on the self-punishment list
Two bests, two cautions, and the rest read through the five elements. The rules behind the colors are stated further down the page.
Love compatibility for each of the 12 signs
Who each sign actually works with, who it keeps picking, and why. Every name is read straight off the wheel and links to the pairing's own page.
Rat
The Rat does best with the Dragon and the Monkey: the Dragon gives it something worth scheming for, and the Monkey is the only sign that enjoys the scheming as much as it does. The Ox is the quieter option, the one that holds still while the Rat runs everything and does not resent it. The one it keeps falling for is the Horse, because the Horse looks like freedom, and the Rat then spends the whole relationship trying to put a lid on the one thing it was attracted to.
- Secret friend
- Ox
Ox
The Ox is built for the Snake and the Rooster, two signs that respect a plan and will not mistake steadiness for boredom. The Rat is its secret friend, quick where the Ox is slow, and clever enough to make the Ox's patience look like strategy. It keeps picking the Goat, soft and warm and everything the Ox is not, and then cannot understand why the Goat needs so much reassurance for a life the Ox has already built for it.
- Secret friend
- Rat
Tiger
The Tiger wants the Horse and the Dog: the Horse can run alongside without asking permission, and the Dog will follow it into anything and tell it the truth on the way back. The Pig is the one it does not expect, generous enough to absorb the Tiger's moods and too easygoing to fight about them. The Monkey is the trap. It is the only sign quick enough to make the Tiger look slow, and the Tiger will keep trying to win an argument the Monkey is not having.
- Secret friend
- Pig
Rabbit
The Rabbit is happiest with the Goat and the Pig, signs that want the same quiet house it wants and will not fill it with noise. The Dog is its secret friend, the one that stays and does not make the Rabbit ask. It keeps ending up with the Rooster, because the Rooster's certainty looks like safety from a distance, and up close every candid remark lands on a sign that forgets nothing and forgives on a delay.
- Secret friend
- Dog
Dragon
The Dragon needs the Rat and the Monkey, two signs sharp enough to keep up and unimpressed enough to keep it honest. The Rooster is the surprising one: it is the only sign that will polish the Dragon's plans instead of applauding them. The Dog is where it goes wrong, every time. The Dog will not flatter it, will not be dazzled, and will lie awake worrying about exactly the things the Dragon refuses to take seriously.
- Secret friend
- Rooster
Snake
The Snake works with the Ox and the Rooster, signs that also plan first and talk later, and that will not read its silence as a problem to solve. The Monkey is its secret friend, the one sign that can make the Snake laugh before it has decided whether to. It keeps choosing the Pig, warm and open and easy, and then finds that everything the Pig says out loud is something the Snake would have kept.
- Secret friend
- Monkey
Horse
The Horse belongs with the Tiger and the Dog: the Tiger runs ahead and does not look back to check, the Dog runs alongside and does. The Goat is its secret friend, gentle enough to leave the gate open, which is the only way the Horse ever stays. The Rat is the mistake it repeats, because the Rat is clever and quick and fun until it starts keeping track, and the Horse cannot love anything that counts.
- Secret friend
- Goat
Goat
The Goat does best with the Rabbit and the Pig, two signs that will keep a soft house and never mistake kindness for weakness. The Horse is its secret friend, and the pairing works because the Horse brings the momentum the Goat cannot make on its own. It keeps picking the Ox: solid, reliable, the sign that will build the life. Then the Goat finds that the Ox built it and went back to work, and does not understand what else was wanted.
- Secret friend
- Horse
Monkey
The Monkey wants the Rat and the Dragon, the only two signs that will play the game at full speed and take a loss without sulking. The Snake is its secret friend, still where the Monkey is restless, and the one sign it cannot bluff. It keeps going back to the Tiger, because the Tiger is the biggest thing in the room and the Monkey cannot resist poking it. The Tiger, unfortunately, does not think it is a game.
- Secret friend
- Snake
Rooster
The Rooster is built for the Ox and the Snake, signs that also like a plan and will take a correction without taking it personally. The Dragon is its secret friend: the Dragon needs someone to run the details, and the Rooster is the only sign that finds that flattering. The Rabbit is the one it keeps choosing and keeps losing, because the Rooster says the true thing at once and the Rabbit hears it for years.
- Secret friend
- Dragon
Dog
The Dog belongs with the Tiger and the Horse, the two signs that give it somewhere to put its loyalty and never make it beg. The Rabbit is its secret friend, calm enough to settle the Dog's worrying without pretending it is silly. The Dragon is the sign it cannot resist and cannot relax around: all that confidence looks like an answer to the Dog's doubt, and turns out to be the reason for it.
- Secret friend
- Rabbit
Pig
The Pig is happiest with the Rabbit and the Goat, signs that want the same easy, generous house and will not take advantage of the person keeping it. The Tiger is its secret friend, the unlikely one: the Tiger brings the nerve, the Pig brings the warmth, and neither has to pretend to be the other. The Snake is where it goes wrong. The Pig tells everything and the Snake keeps everything, and the Pig will spend years wondering what it did.
- Secret friend
- Tiger
The same twelve blocks answer the questions people type in other words: a Chinese horoscope partner compatibility check, a Chinese astrology match, a birth-year match for a wedding. It is one system, and the names above are its whole output for any sign. The deeper version compares two full birth charts rather than two years; a sample bazi compatibility reading shows what that looks like.
How the system actually works
Every compatibility verdict in the Chinese zodiac comes from one map: twelve signs on a wheel, in a fixed order, each tied to one of the twelve "earthly branches" that Chinese calendars have used to count hours and years for over two thousand years. The relationships are positions on that wheel, which means every verdict can be checked, and none of them involves a percentage. It is also the closest the tradition ever came to reading the marriage register in advance: the god who keeps that register, Yue Lao, the Old Man Under the Moon, never shows it to anyone, so the matchmakers compared birth years instead.
Four rules do all the work. Signs four apart form a trine (san he), three-sign teams with a shared elemental character; these are the classic best matches. Each sign also has exactly one secret friend (liu he), a quiet one-on-one alliance. The sign sitting directly opposite is the clash (liu chong), the pairing grandmothers warn about. And a subtler set of six harms (liu hai) flags slow-friction pairs. Everything else is read through the five elements each sign carries.
Where a pairing has no formal bond, we say so, and grade it by how the two signs' fixed elements interact in the generating and controlling cycles. That is the entire method. Any site showing you "67%" is decorating; the tradition it borrows from contains no math to do.
For the rules stated as rules, the arithmetic of the whole wheel, and ten circulating claims checked one by one against the branch tables, see the mechanisms reference.
All 66 pairings
Every possible pairing of the twelve signs, with the verdict and the rule that produced it. Pairings with a full write-up are linked; the rest are being written in order of demand.
| Pairing | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Rat + Ox | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Rat + Tiger | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Water feeds Wood in the generating cycle. |
| Rat + Rabbit | Takes work | No clash, but the old punishment (xing) tables flag this pair. A caution, not a verdict. |
| Rat + Dragon | Best match | San he, both belong to the Water trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Rat + Snake | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Water controls Fire in the five-element cycle. |
| Rat + Horse | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Rat + Goat | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Rat + Monkey | Best match | San he, both belong to the Water trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Rat + Rooster | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Metal feeds Water in the generating cycle. |
| Rat + Dog | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Earth controls Water in the five-element cycle. |
| Rat + Pig | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Water. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Ox + Tiger | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Wood controls Earth in the five-element cycle. |
| Ox + Rabbit | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Wood controls Earth in the five-element cycle. |
| Ox + Dragon | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Earth. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Ox + Snake | Best match | San he, both belong to the Metal trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Ox + Horse | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Ox + Goat | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Ox + Monkey | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Earth feeds Metal in the generating cycle. |
| Ox + Rooster | Best match | San he, both belong to the Metal trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Ox + Dog | Takes work | No clash, but the old punishment (xing) tables flag this pair. A caution, not a verdict. |
| Ox + Pig | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Earth controls Water in the five-element cycle. |
| Tiger + Rabbit | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Wood. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Tiger + Dragon | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Wood controls Earth in the five-element cycle. |
| Tiger + Snake | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Tiger + Horse | Best match | San he, both belong to the Fire trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Tiger + Goat | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Wood controls Earth in the five-element cycle. |
| Tiger + Monkey | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Tiger + Rooster | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Metal controls Wood in the five-element cycle. |
| Tiger + Dog | Best match | San he, both belong to the Fire trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Tiger + Pig | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Rabbit + Dragon | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Rabbit + Snake | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Wood feeds Fire in the generating cycle. |
| Rabbit + Horse | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Wood feeds Fire in the generating cycle. |
| Rabbit + Goat | Best match | San he, both belong to the Wood trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Rabbit + Monkey | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Metal controls Wood in the five-element cycle. |
| Rabbit + Rooster | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Rabbit + Dog | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Rabbit + Pig | Best match | San he, both belong to the Wood trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Dragon + Snake | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Fire feeds Earth in the generating cycle. |
| Dragon + Horse | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Fire feeds Earth in the generating cycle. |
| Dragon + Goat | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Earth. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Dragon + Monkey | Best match | San he, both belong to the Water trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Dragon + Rooster | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Dragon + Dog | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Dragon + Pig | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Earth controls Water in the five-element cycle. |
| Snake + Horse | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Fire. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Snake + Goat | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Fire feeds Earth in the generating cycle. |
| Snake + Monkey | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Snake + Rooster | Best match | San he, both belong to the Metal trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Snake + Dog | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Fire feeds Earth in the generating cycle. |
| Snake + Pig | Challenging | Liu chong, one of the six clashes: the two signs sit directly opposite on the wheel. |
| Horse + Goat | Best match | Liu he, one of the six harmonies, the branch system’s quiet one-on-one alliances. |
| Horse + Monkey | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Fire controls Metal in the five-element cycle. |
| Horse + Rooster | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Fire controls Metal in the five-element cycle. |
| Horse + Dog | Best match | San he, both belong to the Fire trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Horse + Pig | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Water controls Fire in the five-element cycle. |
| Goat + Monkey | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Earth feeds Metal in the generating cycle. |
| Goat + Rooster | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Earth feeds Metal in the generating cycle. |
| Goat + Dog | Takes work | No clash, but the old punishment (xing) tables flag this pair. A caution, not a verdict. |
| Goat + Pig | Best match | San he, both belong to the Wood trine, signs four apart that pull in the same direction. |
| Monkey + Rooster | Good match | No formal bond, and both carry the fixed element Metal. Kinship without guarantees. |
| Monkey + Dog | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Earth feeds Metal in the generating cycle. |
| Monkey + Pig | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Rooster + Dog | Challenging | Liu hai, one of the six harms, the tradition’s slow-friction pairing. |
| Rooster + Pig | Good match | No formal bond, but their fixed elements cooperate: Metal feeds Water in the generating cycle. |
| Dog + Pig | Takes work | No formal bond, and their fixed elements rub: Earth controls Water in the five-element cycle. |
Questions people ask
What is Chinese zodiac compatibility based on?
Geometry, not personality quizzes. The twelve signs sit on a wheel of twelve "earthly branches," and every verdict is a position: signs four apart form a trine (san he) of natural allies, each sign has exactly one "secret friend" (liu he), the sign directly opposite is its clash (liu chong), and a second set of six pairings called the harms (liu hai) carries a quieter warning. Every verdict on this site names which of those rules produced it.
Are Chinese zodiac compatibility percentages real?
No. The scores you see elsewhere ("Dragon and Dog: 30%") have no source and no method; the traditional system contains no numbers at all, only the named relationships between branch positions. We publish the mechanism behind each verdict instead of inventing arithmetic on top of it.
Which Chinese zodiac signs should not marry?
Tradition flags the six clashes hardest: Rat–Horse, Ox–Goat, Tiger–Monkey, Rabbit–Rooster, Dragon–Dog, and Snake–Pig, each pair sitting directly opposite on the wheel. Old matchmakers checked these before weddings, and some families still do. It has always been a caution rather than a prohibition, and real couples override it every day.
Does zodiac compatibility still matter in China today?
As living culture, yes. Grandparents consult it before introductions, matchmaking corners in city parks list birth years on the posted profiles, and a clash pairing can still prompt a family discussion. Treated as heritage and conversation rather than destiny, which is exactly how this site reads it too.
Is Chinese astrology compatibility the same as Chinese zodiac compatibility?
Mostly, but not entirely. Chinese horoscope and Chinese astrology compatibility checks almost always mean the birth-year animals, which is the comparison on this page. Full Chinese astrology goes further: a bazi (Four Pillars) reading sets two whole birth charts side by side, with the month, day, and hour branches as well as the year, and a couple whose year animals clash can still come out well matched there. The year comparison is the first glance; the chart comparison is what a professional matchmaker would actually run.
Which Chinese zodiac signs pair well together?
The four trines first: Rat, Dragon, Monkey; Ox, Snake, Rooster; Tiger, Horse, Dog; Rabbit, Goat, Pig. Each trio sits four positions apart on the wheel and shares an elemental character, and any two signs from the same trio are a traditional best match. Then the six secret friends, one per sign: Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, Horse and Goat. Everything else is read through the two signs' fixed elements, and the 66-row table below names the rule for every pairing.
Which Chinese zodiac signs are soulmates?
If the word means anything in this system, it means the secret friend (liu he): the one sign each animal is paired with in the six harmonies, a quiet one-to-one alliance rather than the three-way team of the trine. The six pairs are Rat and Ox, Tiger and Pig, Rabbit and Dog, Dragon and Rooster, Snake and Monkey, Horse and Goat. Tradition treats these as the pairings that understand each other without effort; it does not promise they will meet.
Which sign is most compatible with the Horse?
The Horse's trine partners are the Tiger and the Dog, and its secret friend is the Goat; those three are its traditional best matches. Its clash is the Rat, directly opposite on the wheel, and its harm is the Ox. The Horse also appears in the old self-punishment list, which some almanacs read as a caution about two Horses together. Each of those pairings has its own page.
Which Chinese zodiac signs are incompatible with each other?
The six clashes are the pairs the tradition warns about hardest: Rat and Horse, Ox and Goat, Tiger and Monkey, Rabbit and Rooster, Dragon and Dog, Snake and Pig, each sitting directly opposite the other on the wheel. Behind them sit the six harms (liu hai), a slower friction: Rat and Goat, Ox and Horse, Tiger and Snake, Rabbit and Dragon, Monkey and Pig, Rooster and Dog. Incompatible is the tradition's word, not a verdict on any two people; the clash pages on this site are written for couples who are already in one.
Can two people with the same zodiac sign be compatible?
The branch system simply has no line for a sign paired with itself: no trine, no clash. Tradition reads same-sign couples as amplified likeness, double the strengths and double the blind spots. One footnote: the Dragon, Horse, Rooster, and Pig appear in the old self-punishment (xing) lists, which some almanacs read as a caution about self-sameness.
The twelve signs, year by year
Exact year spans, personalities, and each sign's full profile.
Chinese gender predictor
The legendary palace chart, read honestly from a birth date.
By Julian 祝君瑜, verdicts derived from the twelve-branch system, mechanisms named, no percentages were invented in the making of this page